


On Display

by Mossley



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 07:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23967805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mossley/pseuds/Mossley
Summary: What started as a simple gesture grew into something far larger – much to Grissom's amazement. GSR. Mainly harmless fluff. Yes, it is Christmas-themed. Yes, I know it's not Christmas. It's been gathering dust on my computer for ages.
Relationships: Gil Grissom/Sara Sidle
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	On Display

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is for Peggie, who answered my Christmas offer to write a story for anyone who asked – about three lifetimes ago. She supplied the opening and closing lines. I was never really satisfied with how it turned out, but I should have posted something ages ago.  
> A/N II: I didn't have a beta for this story, so excuse any typos or grammatical me know if you find any, and I'll fix 'em.  
> Disclaimer: I still don't have any rights to this show or the characters, and I'm sure that's a very good thing.

* * *

"Who spiked the eggnog?" Greg's cry sounded across the packed room, and Sara grinned as Grissom walked towards him.

"It's eggnog, Greg. By definition, it has alcohol in it," he stated, frowning immediately afterwards. "And guys? Anyone on duty tonight, stick to the non-alcoholic drinks!"

"More for the rest of us," Sofia Curtis said, squeezing around Greg to snatch the cup from his hand. "You heard your boss."

"But I'm off tonight," he growled, trying to follow the detective through the crowd to get his drink back.

Excusing herself, Sara broke away from the cluster of folks she'd been talking to, heading towards the kitchen. Grissom shook his head, holding out the empty bowls in his hands as they converged. "Even the locust swarms of Africa aren't this bad."

"Are you calling our friends a plague?" she teased, taking a slow, lingering lick of her candy cane.

He took a moment to notice her amused look and closed his mouth. "Of Biblical proportions."

"Well, Moses, there's more chips and pretzels in the kitchen. Need a hand?"

"No, you enjoy _your_ party."

"I'm not the one who invited them! And I'm pretty sure I suggested getting a rental hall."

"Do we even know all these people?" he demanded, looking around the room again with a startled expression. He frowned briefly when someone bumped into him.

"Sorry, Grissom! Sara, great to see you."

"We're glad you could make it!" she said, accepting his hug with a startled smile.

Grissom watched the man as he wove his way across the room. He turned back to Sara with a firm expression. "I do not know the man."

"Larry Chu. Morgue attendant from day shift," she supplied automatically. "I did warn you."

He just shook his head in bewilderment. "Well, our _friends_ are going to eat us out of house and home. What do you think? Pizza?"

"And lots of it," she laughed as he headed to the kitchen to place the order.

"You warned him, huh?" came the sound of Catherine's voice as she worked her way to Sara's side. Nick and Warrick followed in her wake, pausing occasionally to greet someone. "How did you talk Grissom – our Grissom – into hosting a party?"

"It didn't start out that way. Something about the holidays approaching, I don't know. It got me thinking I wanted to do something for everyone who helped during my rescue." She gave a small, involuntary shudder as memories of her arm snapping under the weight of the car came back. "I owe you guys."

"You thanked us already, sweetheart," Nick said. "Ages ago."

"And it wasn't necessary," Warrick added, gently cuffing her shoulder.

"I know, but I wanted to do something more personal. It meant a lot to me, to both of us, what all of you did."

"And he suggested a party?" the blonde asked in amazement.

"He was joking when he said it. And I was joking when I said it would be the perfect thing."

"But he took you seriously," Warrick chuckled. "Oh, man."

She gave a rueful shake of her head. "The next thing I know, he's pulling in favors so we both had tonight off and announcing the party. I never would have asked him for this. He's so private, and he had no idea what would happen."

"Hey, hey, no group jokes without your lovable sidekick," Greg insisted as he worked his way to them, his glass of eggnog held up to avoid jostling people and drink-napping detectives. "What's so funny?"

"Sara was saying she warned Grissom they'd get a crowd if he had a party," Nick said.

"He didn't know he'd get a response like this?" Greg asked in surprise. "A chance to see the Reclusive Bearded Misanthrope Geek in its natural habitat? I'm surprised there aren't TV cameras here for a documentary."

"You've had too many," Sara said, reaching for his drink.

Greg cuddled it close to his body, giving her a mock-pout. "I was going to say the female of the species is more outgoing, but I may need to revise that."

"You do that," Sara said, looking over the crowd as a sudden burst of laughter broke out near the front door. "Do we really know all these people?"

"Well, it didn't help that Gil put out an open invitation to anyone who helped on that case," Catherine said, quickly scanning the room.

Besides the immediate team, CSIs and lab rats from the other shifts mingled with a variety of first responders. Brass, Sofia, O'Riley, Vega and Vartan made up a handful of the law enforcement personnel from the city, county and state agencies. Both Dr. Robbins and his assistant David were there, along with their wives. Conrad Ecklie and his wife, on their way to another party, had made a brief appearance. Someone had even started a wild rumor that the mayor was going to stop by.

The house was packed, and the party had started less than twenty minutes earlier.

"I knew I wasn't going to pass up the invitation," Nick stated. "In all the years I've worked here, this is only the second time I've been inside Grissom's place."

"And we had to barge our way in the first time to work that Strip Strangler Case," Warrick added, looking around approvingly. "This place is nicer."

"Definitely a woman's touch," Catherine agreed, giving Sara a wink.

"Wait? What? Grissom had another place before this? What was it like?" Greg asked.

"You don't know, Mr. I-Knew-They-Were-A-Couple?" Catherine said, her teasing tone not completely hiding her annoyance. "You didn't share with us, why should we share with you?"

"Hey," he replied, "a gentleman never shares a confidence made by his damsel. Besides, Sara would have killed me."

"No, I wouldn't, Greg. No one would have ever guessed it was anything other than an accident."

"That's so much more reassuring," he teased, giving her a quick one-arm hug. "So spill! Bugman's original habitat? His pre-Sara abode? What was it like?"

"Aseptic," Nick answered. "Bare floors, concrete block walls painted a plain white. Bugs everywhere."

"Insect displays," Sara corrected. "It was very clean."

"I felt like I was in a specimen jar, to tell you the truth," Nick said.

Warrick darted his eyes to him quickly. "You don't smell that bad."

"Oh, haha. An insect specimen. I thought that was clear from context."

"Well, this place definitely is warmer. A lot more inviting," Warrick said.

"That place was just a house. This is a home."

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Nicky," Grissom said. "First batch of pizzas will be here shortly."

"Grissom!" The others resisted the urge to laugh when Vega edged his way closer, causing him to drop his shoulders in defeat. "The sheriff just arrived."

"What?" he called to the retreating detective.

"You invited him," Sara said, rubbing her hand down his back.

"No, I didn't."

"Gil, you made an open invitation. It's his lab. You invited him," Catherine said with a grin.

The others held their chuckles in check until he was out of hearing distance, clearly grousing to himself as he headed to the front of the house.

"Now there's one thing I don't get. A dog?" Warrick asked.

They all turned to look at the boxer, sitting on his bed against the living room wall, a favorite toy sitting between his front paws. When a group got to close to him, he picked it up, scratched up the end of his bed and "buried" the toy under it.

"I like animals," she said, smiling happily at his antics.

"Yeah, but slobber? That's not you, Sara," Nick pointed out.

"I don't like human saliva. Hank's not human."

The others around her all turned to stare.

"What?" she asked.

"You named your dog Hank?" Greg got out between chortles.

"He's Grissom's dog," she corrected, quickly adding, "and that was his name when he got him."

Catherine watched the boxer as he sat on his bed, scanning the unfamiliar faces with a look of good-natured bafflement, a small drip of slobber on his muzzle. As they watched, he started to scratch himself. "Well, personally, _I_ can see the resemblance."

"Oh, that's wrong," Nick said over the raucous laughter from the others. The noise attracted the attention of Sofia, who left her conversation with Mandy and Judy to join them.

"Don't make me investigate a noise complaint," she joked, eyeing Greg as he slipped away from her with his drink, moving to the other side of Catherine. The others continued with their guffaws while Sara shook her head in mock-anger. "Do I want to ask?"

"Sara named her dog after her ex. Just commenting on the resemblance."

"I didn't name him. There's no resemblance."

"But the ex is a dog, right?" Sofia asked.

"Definitely," Catherine stated, not backing down from Sara's stare. "Well, he is. After what he did to you?"

The blonde looked at the confused looks the others had and winced. "Which you never told anyone else about. Sorry."

Nick took a step closer to Sara, his voice tight. "What did he do?"

"Never you mind," Catherine told him, pushing him back. "Forget it."

"What?" Grissom asked, forcing his way to stand beside Sara. She gave him a loving look when he rested his hand on her shoulder.

"You don't want to know. Trust me."

He shrugged, distracted when Hank came over to nudge him. He bent over to rub his ears. "How's Hank? Does he like all these strange people in his house?"

"We were wondering the same about you," Catherine drew out.

"I'll need to take a mortgage out on the house to pay for the food." When someone called out his name, he stared in confusion as the man made his way across the room.

"Stan Kramer. Chopper pilot who picked up Sara," Sofia supplied under her breath.

"Thanks," he muttered, rolling his shoulders as he went to intercept the pilot and steer him in another direction. "Stan, isn't it? Thanks a lot for all your help."

Catherine turned to Sara, whispering in her ear. "He is okay with this?"

Sara shrugged. "He did all the planning."

"Hey, a guy in love will do just about anything for his lady," Nick said, deliberately exaggerating his accent.

Sara dropped her head shyly for a beat before giving them a wide grin. "He is something else. I, uh, always knew he was special …"

"Everybody did," Greg said, making a wacky face as he pointed to Grissom's retreating back. Sofia and Catherine both reached over to whack his head at the same time.

"Jerk," Sara said, flashing him a small smile. Wrapping her arms around herself, she slowly grew more serious. "That whole scene … it was a mess. I, uh, I think I was a mess afterwards? Pretty sure I was."

A soft whimper caused her to stop. Hank, sensing her growing unease, was nudging her leg repeatedly. She smiled softly at him as she scratched him.

"But Grissom? Wow, he," she said, smiling at the memories. "He was so amazing. I can't begin to describe it."

The mood was ruined by the arrival of Hodges, who elbowed Greg away to get closer. "Try! We've all been dying to hear the details. Gil is amazing in bed?'

Before the others started voicing their disgust at his comment, a low, menacing growl caused Hodges to back up quickly.

"Hank!" Sara immediately grabbed his collar.

He looked at her with a confused look, his desire to please her conflicting with his urge to protect her. Hank settled for pushing firmly into her, forcing her to step away from what he perceived to be a threat.

"Don't worry about him, Hodges," Grissom said lightly, angling his way to the dog. "He's been very protective of Sara since her ordeal."

"Yeah, okay, I'm going to get something to drink," the lab tech said, retreating quickly.

"Hank!" Grissom called out in mock-severity when the dog let out a short, parting growl. Crouching down, he wrapped an arm around him. "Good boy," he added in a low voice. "Yes, he is."

"Gil," Sara said in surprise. "You shouldn't encourage him."

"But he was a good boy. He chased Hodges away."

"Hey, they do say you should trust a dog's judgment of people," Nick said.

"Think we could take Hank to the lab?" Sofia asked.

At the mention of his name by a stranger, he looked around in confusion before leaning into Grissom's arm for comfort.

"I think the crowd's getting to him. Why don't you put him in the bedroom?" Sara suggested.

Grissom nodded as he led the dog away. Hank gave her a parting look, scanned the room warily and followed him down a hallway.

"I don't know about anyone else, but the talk of 'sex' and 'Grissom' in the same sentence ruined my party mood," Greg joked.

"Why?" Sara asked with an evil smirk. "Our sex life is fantastic."

"Ooh, too much information! Too! Much! Information!" Greg whined as he drained the last of his eggnog. "I need another drink. Or brain bleach."

"Pretty much the same," she called after him.

The others laughed as he walked away, shaking his finger at Grissom as they passed.

"Is this something else I don't want to know about?" he asked warily.

"I was just telling him about our great sex life. You can close your mouth."

"Don't give the guy a heart attack," Catherine said, patting him on the shoulder. "No details were given."

"None were asked," Nick added quickly.

"None are wanted," Warrick insisted.

Sara flashed him a loving smile. "Glad you came back out of the bedroom? I was wondering if you were going to hide in there with Hank."

Whatever unease he'd been feeling faded as he gazed at her. "And leave you alone? Never."

To her surprise, he leaned to kiss her gently. He froze when the cheers started across the house. When people starting clinking plastic spoons on the plastic glasses, he blushed slightly.

"It's not a wedding, nitwits," Sofia yelled jovially. After a beat, she added, "Someone get the mistletoe!"

"Now that's the ticket," Warrick said over the roar of the crowd. He moved over to stand in front of Sara, grinning as he rubbed his hands together. "Let's get this party started!"

"There will be no mistletoeing," Grissom called out definitively, waving off the laughter from the crowd.

"Spoilsport," Warrick said, dipping his head to give her a quick peck before stepping behind Nick.

"Coward."

"You're just jealous 'cause you didn't think of it first," Warrick said.

"Like I'm going to make a move on Grissom's gal? Been buried once already, thank you very much."

"You sure about the mistletoe, Gil? I was looking forward to it," Catherine said, giving him a wink as she went to refill her drink.

He turned to Sara, shaking his head in disbelief. Before he could say anything though, another voice called out to him. He frowned as the woman approached.

"Sheila Marfield, Internal Affairs," Warrick supplied, waving to her as Grissom led her back into the living room.

"Is it just me, or is Grissom steering everyone away from you?" Sofia asked.

"He's been just a _little_ overprotective since I was abducted," she admitted.

"And since he doesn't want to meet any of those people, he thinks you don't," Catherine concluded. After a beat, she broke down in laughter. "But now these people are going to think he actually knows them!"

The latest round of laughter broke off quickly when they noticed Sara didn't join them. She took her candy cane out of her mouth, using it to point to each of them in turn, her expression serious. She then waved the cane to indicate the literal barrier they had made between her and the rest of the party. "Not that you have any room to speak."

"Ah, we know which host is going to have the best stories," Catherine told her, effectively breaking the tension. The others relaxed and moved into less defensive positions.

"Sara! Great party," Archie said, waving to Greg who was approaching with a fresh drink. "Greg! You have to check out this movie collection. Grissom has _I Married A Martian Zombie Hellhound_!"

"No way! That's been out of print forever."

"Sounds like something that never should have been in print in the first place," Sofia joked as the pair disappeared in another part of the house. "Is it as bad as it sounds?"

"Worse," Sara confided. "He loves those old horror and monster movies."

"Giant bugs," Nick said. "He's consistent, ya gotta give Grissom that."

"I'm almost afraid to ask."

Sara smiled as Grissom rested his arm around her waist. "The sheriff wants to see you before he leaves."

"Not a problem," she said.

He let out a short snort, before subtly pointing to someone admiring a photo of Hank.

"I have no idea," Sara finally admitted, turning to the others.

"I think that's Darius Henderson," Catherine said. "Animal control."

Grissom's free hand came up to rub his eyes. "I think it's safe to say this party has gotten out of hand."

"Nah," Sofia said. "We haven't had to arrest anyone yet."

"How could you?" he asked, holding his arms out to indicate the packed house. "The whole department is here."

"Maybe the fire marshal will shut you down for having too many people in here," she said with a laugh.

"Nope, he's over there talking to Doc Robbins," Catherine said, sipping her soda with a Cheshire grin.

They all turned in the direction she was pointing. When the object of their attention noticed, he waved his drink in their direction.

"Hi, Larry," Sara called out. "Good to see you!"

Catherine just patted Grissom on the arm. "Face the facts, Gil. You're throwing the hottest party of the year."

"This is Las Vegas. This barely qualifies as a party," he said, closing his eyes when a fresh burst of loud laughter came from the direction of the dining room. "Not a hot party, anyway."

"Hot or not, I appreciate it, Gil," Sara said sincerely. "I really do."

"That makes it all worthwhile," he said, giving her another soft kiss. "But we're never doing this again."

"Gil!"

"Jim Brass, Homicide," Nick deadpanned.

"Thanks, Nick. Next body we get in a sewer? It's all yours."

"For me, man? Thanks. That's the best Christmas gift you've ever given me," Nick drew out, giving Sara a wink. "Of course, it's the _only_ Christmas present you've ever given _me_."

"He invited you to our home," Sara pointed out.

"He invited all of Vegas," Warrick countered, prompting Grissom to drop his head and pinch the bridge of his nose again.

Brass smiled as he made his way over. He raised his eyebrows and waggled them. "I heard something about mistletoe?"

"I wouldn't push your luck," Nick said with a grin. "Sara will tell you stuff you do not want to hear about."

"Their great sex life," Catherine added, smiling at Brass' look.

"Hey, I'm happy for you two, but, no, I don't need details."

"You weren't getting any," Grissom said, fixing Catherine with a warning look. "Don't you need to head to the lab?"

"Not for a couple more hours."

"The party won't last that long," he said, frowning at their amused looks.

"Oh, Grissom, it is," Sofia said, raising her glass in salute as she went to greet some new arrivals.

"It is?" he asked, rolling his eyes when Sara gave him a definite nod.

"Some of day shift will be heading back to the lab for a few hours so people from swing can stop by," she told him.

"Do you happen to know what the maximum weight capacity of our floors are?" Grissom asked seriously.

"Pizza's here!" a hidden voice boomed from the direction of the front door.

"You stay here, man. Spend some time with Sara," Warrick said, giving Nick a push to join him. "We'll talk to you later!"

"Don't let them pay," Sara said. "They're our guests."

"Oh, I think they wanted to give Gil a break," Catherine said, her grin giving them advance warning. "The guy who called out about the pizza? I'm pretty sure that was the mayor."

"Seriously?" Sara asked, standing on her tiptoes to get a better view. "Sweet!"

"I think that's my clue to leave. No mistletoe?" Brass asked in a mock-whine. "Story of my life."

Grissom, for his part, looked toward the kitchen. "Think we can make it out the back door?"

"No." It was Catherine who answered. "This is the first time, in like forever, you invited someone to your house. It's your own fault that you didn't limit the invitations. You'll know better for next time."

He was shaking his head firmly. "What next time? There's not going to be a next time. Is there?" He turned to look at Sara questioningly.

"Only if you want there to be," she reassured him. "This is great, Gil. Not just the party, but that you were willing to do it for me. But I don't expect you to do this again."

He gave Catherine a pointed look. "And what do you say to that?"

She smiled over her shoulder as she walked away. "What I'm going to say at your next party - Happy New Year!"

**The End**


End file.
